Circuit breaker



Dec. 27, 1932. O A oss 1,892,008

CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Dec. 2, 1950 INVEN R.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 27, 1932 STATES OSCAR A. BOSS, NEW YORK 11'. Y.

CIRCUIT BREAKER Application filed December 2, 1930. Serial No. 499,4;29.

- This invention refers to circuitclosers and more particularly to that class wherein a A movable contact supporting member is ar- K ganged to contact with a fixed contact mem- This invention comprises a modification of the invention disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 298,447, filed August 9, 1929 of which this instrument forms a continuation in part.

In the adjustment of contacts employed in circuit closers, as for example, the circuit breaker employed in internal combustion motor ignition apparatus, the contacting faces i of the contacting. portions become misaligned owing to the circuit breaker being pivotally supported, the pivoted contact moving through an arc of a circle and the stationary contact moving in a' lineal plane as said contacts are adjusted. The usual practice is to bend the support of the fixed contact until the contacting surfaces appear to be parallel, however true parallelism can rarely be obthe contacts hear at only one point of the.

contacting surfaces thereof.

The applicant has conceived a novel form I of supporting a contact member whereby the furnishing of a contact supporting device wherein the tension tending to seat the contactis in the direction of making contact, whereby the contact is positively moved as the contact support is actuated to .open the circuit irrespective of the vacuum which may be caused between the contacting faces due to high speed of operation and perfect parallelism of said contacting faces.

Another-accomplishment comprises furnishing' a self-aligning .contact member I wherein the movement thereof for alignment with the'mating contact associated d --1 therewith, is accomplished without any relatained in this manner and as a result of which tive movement with respect to the resilient member constraining said contact member to its seat' or with respect to the movement of rafter described, delineated in the accompany- .ing drawing, and particularly pointed out in that portion of the instrument wherein patentable novelty is claimed for certain and peculiar features of the invention, it being understoodthat, within, the scope of what hereinafter thus is claimed, divers changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of the device maybe made without departing -from the spirit of, or sacrificing any of the details of the invention.

In describing the invention in detail reference is had to the accompanying drawing wherein I have illustrated embodiments of my invention, and wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts 'through the several views, and in which Figure '1 is an" enlarged part sectional view of a circuit breaker to WlllCh 'applicants in vention has been applied, and Fig.2 is a plan view of the same taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an end'elevational view of the same taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a circuit breaker illustrating the method of replacing contacts thcreinto. I I Y Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the circuitbreaker arm 1 which'may be of the general form of circuitbreaker now employed in connection with ignition systems for internal combustion motors, has a contact supporting portion 2 formed at one end thereof, in which is preferab y stamped a concave recess or seat portion 3, having seatat and orifice 5,

Other obdepression arranged to seat in groove 16- 8 formed with seating surface 9 arranged to impinge onto seat 4. Contact member 6 is also formed with allocating projection 10 having anapex 10a arran ed to receive impin ement of the free en 11 of spring or resi ient member 12, the rotating end 13 of which is rotatively secured to arm 1 by tubular rivet 14, said spring member having a formed in said arm.

The distance A between the apex 10a of projection 10 and the free end 11 of spring 12, and the seating surface 9 of seating portion 8 is substantially equal to .the radius of the are forming said seating surface whereby as contact member 6 is rotated in seat 4 of seating portion 3, no movement occurs'between said apex 10a and the free end 11 of spring 12.

The projection 15 of spring 12 is normally seated in groove 16 to prevent the free end 11 thereof from accidentally leaving the apex 10a. However, when it is desired to replace a contact as 6, the free end 11 is constrained sidewise as shown by Fig. 4 and whereafter the old contact member 6 may be removed and a new one inserted in the place thereof.

The tension of the free end 11 of spring 12 is preferably sufiicient whereby the contact member 6 will notalign from normal pressure of the breaker arm sprin (not shown) during the inoperation thereof, however by depressing the contact supporting portion 2 toward the stationary contact with which contact member is arranged to contactingly engage, whereby the contacting face 76 of contact portion 7 a will be aligned with said stationary contact, the seating portion 8 of said contact member rotatin in seat 4 without effecting an movement etween the a x 10a and the rec end 11 of spring 12. f when replacing the contact member 6, said member is not aligned as described, due to inadvertence, the hammering action of the contacts during the making and'breaking of the circuit controlled thereby will, in a comparatively short space of time, automatically act to cause alignment thereof by constraining frictional movement between the seating faces 4 and 9 as said hammering action takes place.

The free end 11 of spring 12 is preferably formed to have a tension whereby the seating surfaces 4 and 9 will remain continually in contact irrespective of the speed at which the circuit breaker is being operated during the openingxgnd closing of the circuit with which it may associated.

It is to be noted that the contact member 6 is inserted through orifice 5 from the top side of the contact supporting portion 2 for seating the seating face 9 onto seating face 4 of said portion, and that said seating "surfaces are so arranged that when the contact face 76 is separated from the fixed contact with which it engages, said contact member 6 is positively moved away from said fixed contact thereby preventing any change in timing of the ignition circuit controlled thereby.

What I claim is r 1. A circuit breaking device comprising, a contact supporting member having an opening formed therein between the forward and rearward sides thereof, a rearwardl facing seat formed on the rearward side of t e member surrounding the opening therein, a resilient member supported by the contact supporting member havin an extension positioned spaced rearwardfi a self-aligning contact member havin a seating portion and acontacting portion,t e seating portion having a forwardly facing convex seating surface arranged to frictionally engage the rearwardly facin seat on the contact supporting member an the contacting portion extending forwardly from the seating portion spaced through the opening beyond the forward end thereof, a rearwardly protruding extension formed on the seating portion rearwardly of the seating surface thereon, the end of the extension engagin the extension of the resilient member an the point of enga ement of the extensions forming substantially the nucleus from which the arc of the seating surface on the seating portion of the self-aligning contact member is generated.

2. A circuit breaker comprisin a trough shaped breaker arm, a sleeve mem r secured to the side walls of the arm adjacent one end thereof for pivotally supporting the breaker, an opening formed in the bottom wall of the arm adjacent the free end thereof, a seating portion formed in the bottom wall of the arm surrounding the opening therein, the seating portion having a seating surface facing outwardly with respect to the bottom wall of the arm, a self-aligning contact member having a seating portion and a contacting portion, the seating portion engaging the seating surface of the arm seat portion and the contacting portion extending spacedly through the opening into the tro h of the arm, a contacting face formed on t eend of the contacting portion extending into the trough of the arm, arranged to engage a contacting face of a correlated contact member, and means supported by the breaker arm for resiliently urging the contacting portion of the self-aligning contact member to frictionally engage the seating surface on the seating portion of the arm.

3. A circuit breaker com rising, a breaker arm having. a seat forme thereon, a selfaligning contact member having a seating portion and a contacting portion, the seating by the seating portion independently of the.

' breaker arm, and a resilient member having one end thereof pivotally supported by the arm and the free end thereof arranged to normally engage and urge the contact member to its seated position when the resilient member is'positioned in the normal pivoted position thereof and will permit the removal of the contact member from the arm for replacement thereof when the resilient member is ositi-oned in another pivoted position, the axls of the pivoted end of the resilient member and the axis of the arm seat being spaced on the arm one from the other.

4. A circuit breaker comprising, a breaker arm having a seat formed thereon, a self aligning contact member having a seating portion and a contacting portion, a seating portion frictionally engaging the arm seat and the contacting portion being supported by the seating portion independently of the breaker arm body, a resilient member having one end thereof'pivotal'ly supported by the arm and the free end thereof arranged to engage and urge the contact member to its seated position when the resilient member is positioned in the normal pivoted position thereof and will permit the removal of the 1 contact member from the arm for replacement thereof when the resilient member 1s 5. A contact member for self-aligning cir-' cuit breakers comprising, a contacting portion having a substantially flat contacting face formed forwardly thereon, a'seating portion formed on the member rearwardly of the contacting portion, the seating portion having-a forwardly facing convex seating surface thereon arranged to frictionally envex seating surface thereon arranged to fricgage a correlated seat for self-aligning the member, and a locating .portion formed on the member rearwardly of the seating portion thereof, the locating portion having a rearwardly facing apex for seating the member, the apex forming substantially the nucleus from which the arc of the convex seat-- ing surface is generated.

6. A contact member for self-aligning circuit breakers comprising, a contacting portion having a substantially flat contacting face formed forwardly thereon, a seat ing portion formed on the member rearwardly of the contacting portion thereof, the seating portion having a forwardly facing contionally engage a correlated seating surface for self-aligning the member, a groove formed on the member positioned between the contacting portion and the seating portion, and a locating portion formed on the member rearwardly of the seating portion thereof, the

locating portion having a rearwardly facing apex arranged to frictionally seat the member upon constraint of a resilient member thereagainst.

7. A circuit breaking device comprising, a breaker arm arranged-to have one end thereof pivotally supported, a seat formed on the free end of the arm, a self-aligning contact member having a seating portion and a contacting portion, the seating portion friction ally engaging the arm seat and the contacting portion being supported by the seating portion independently of the arm body, a resilient member having one end thereof pivotally supported by the arm and the free end thereof resiliently urging the seating portion of the contact member to frictionally engage in the arm seat, the axis of the pivotally supported end of the resilient member being positioned spacedly between the pivotally sup: ported end of the arm and the seat in the free end thereof.

'8. A circuit breaker comprising, a contact supporting member having an opening formed between the forward and rearward sides thereof, a rearwardly facing seat formed on the rearward side of the sup ort-. ing member surrounding the opening t erethrough, a self-aligning contact member having a rearwardly seating portion, the seating portion having a forwardly facing seating surface arranged to frictionally engage the seaton the supporting member, a contacting portion formed on the self-aligning contact member extending forwardly from the seat ing portion spacedly through the opening beyond the forward end thereof, the contacting portion forwardly of the seating portion being insertable through the opening upon seating the seating surface of the seating portion onto the seat of the supporting member whereby the self-aligning contact member may be bodily removed from or seated in the contact supporting member, a contacting face formed on the forward end of the contacting portion arranged to contactingly engage a correlated contacting face. and means supported by the contact supporting member for resiliently urging the seating portion of the contactmember to frictionally engage the seat in the supporting member.

In testimony whereof I hereby affix my signature.

oscaa a. ROSS. 

